Even with injuries piling up, the Chicago Bulls have managed to find ways to win. After their blowout loss to Memphis (without Derrick Rose), the Bulls have won three straight games.

Rose said of his left big toe sprain that it won’t get any better this season but he’ll play tonight when the Bulls (15-3) host the New Jersey Nets (5-12).

Not-So-Good News: Power forward and Bench Mobster Taj Gibson is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain with no timetable for his return. Bulls forward Luol Deng, who played and started all 18 games this season is out with a left wrist. Injury report lists him as day-to-day, but certain media is reporting otherwise. He is averaging 15.9 ppg and 7.5 rpg in 38.3 mpg.

“I just got hit on it, but it will be fine.” – Luol Deng on current injury

“It’s just real sore. It’s real painful; I just have to take it slow. I’m just lucky nothing was broken and nothing was torn. That’s the bright side.” – Taj Gibson on current injury

Good News: Joakim Noah (left ankle; game-time decision) and John Lucas III (left groin strain; day-to-day) are both likely to play tonight.

My Thoughts: No worries Bulls Fam, we have a Bench Mob we are known for! Whether it’s newcomer Mike James (who? Mike James!), Brian “White Mamba” Scalabrine, CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Omer Asik, the Bulls have players they can trust to go out there and play their hearts out. Why else would they still be the number one team in the league? They have the depth. They have a solid team that will pick each other up when a few pieces are missing. They each have a role they are filling and most importantly, they have a coach who won’t let something like injuries bring the team down.

“Our second unit plays a lot, so if there’s an injury, the next guy steps up and we go from there. We got 14 guys on the roster that can all play.” – Coach Tom Thibodeau on the current injury situation

Monday night, we watched a different Chicago Bulls team perform. A team, I hope, we don’t see again anytime soon. The Bulls are now 1-1 on the regular season.

On Christmas day in Los Angeles, the Bulls showed up as a competitive group that came back in the final three minutes after trailing by eight points. Not only did they have a game winning floater by the MVP himself (Derrick Rose), but we witnessed Coach Thibodeau’s defensive-minded team is just that: defensive-minded still.

Game two, what would be back-to-back nights for Chicago, in Golden State is a completely different game with two completely different teams. The Bulls had trouble keeping up with the Warriors, giving up 20 turnovers and 20 points on the fastbreak. Chicago also settled for too many outside shots, going 8-for-24 behind the arc. They were outscored in the pain 42-32. Regardless of five Bulls in double-figures, Luol Deng had 22 points and 10 rebounds; Derrick Rose chipped in 13 points and eight assists, the Warriors starting backcourt, Monte Ellis and Stephen Curry, combined for 47 points and 17 assists.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulls turned the game around, erasing a 19-point deficit, bringing them within five. It wasn’t enough and the lack of intensity was the probable cause for their first loss of the season.

Tonight, the Bulls will visit the Sacramento Kings.

First things first, they need to provide a defensive edge. In the previous two games, they allowed their opponent shoot over 47 percent on the floor. Containing Kings’ guard Marcus Thorton should be one of the top assignments tonight, possibly for newly acquired guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton. In his last three games against the Bulls, Thorton has shot just under 59 percent on the floor.

The Bulls need to find a way to drive the ball to the rim and not settle for the jump shot a majority of the time. The lack of energy on offense has forced the Bulls into 34 total turnovers in a two-game span.

The addition of Hamilton to the roster and the excelling performance of Deng (almost every game) should take some pressure off of Rose, which is the goal Chicago was trying to reach over the summer. Rose has been stopped in the paint these past two games due to double teams but Rose must overcome that and find a way around the defenders. Rose has been 13-for-30 on the floor. In LA, he went 4-for-6 behind the arc and the next day at Golden State he went a cold 1-for-8.

From a fan’s perspective, I believe he can and will excel and the team is still trying to mold together, it’s just a matter of time. Stay tuned and see what happens tonight in Sacramento!

Monday morning, the NBA fined Joakim Noah $50,000 for “using a derogatory and offensive term” toward a fan from the bench during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday night.

Some people are probably thinking, “Was Noah’s punishment just?”

Well, here’s my take.

For those of you that think Noah should’ve been suspended, please rethink that possibility. Kobe Bryant was in heat for a gay slur toward a referee after Bryant was issued a technical during a game against the San Antonio Spurs in April. Bryant was fined $100,000 and was NOT suspended.

In Noah’s case, he was provoked by the ‘fan.’ I’m not saying it’s ok to disrespect anyway with an anti-gay slur, but just to see it from the other side. There are shades of gray in this situation.

Noah apologized immediately and realized his mistake. Even though he will be judged because of this, the point is that he understood that his choice of words was wrong and that his emotions got the best of him.

“I just want to apologize; I had just picked up my second foul. I was frustrated. He said something that was disrespectful toward me, and I lost my cool. People who know me know I’m an open-minded guy. I’m not here to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m just here to help win a basketball game. Sometimes fans say things that are overboard. But it’s on us not to react. If you react, they win. And I did. It was a bad decision on my part.” – Joakim Noah’s apology and explaination

Several of Noah’s teammates have said that the fan used profanity regarding Noah’s mother among other insults. And his teammates defended Noah without hesitation.

“What Jo said is something out of frustration; he has to do a better job of controlling his emotion. But that fan should have been thrown out of the game way before. He just kept going at him and in an emotional game like that, and things not going Jo’s way, it’s just human nature to react. I know Jo, and I know he didn’t mean what he said at all.” – Luol Deng defending teammate Joakim Noah  

Bryant’s fine was larger because it also “included discipline of a game official.”

This has been handled and the case should be closed. Both sides were wrong and Noah is paying the price. He understands that he went about it the wrong way, but what’s done is done. The media should’ve looked at it from both sides instead of just assuming that Noah was some kind of monster. The Bulls still have a series to play against Miami and can’t afford to lose any focus. This is basketball. This is the Playoffs.

“If you fall down, get up and go even harder…” should be the motto of All-Star and MVP candidate Derrick Rose, at least in the series vs. the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Playoffs.

Rose only shot 4-18 on the floor; however, he hit 13-15 free throws for 23 points, four steals and five turnovers. Rose knows that if the jumper isn’t there, drive to the line like the Ferrari he is known to be. And he also has teammates that can put up a solid game, Deng scoring 14 of his 21 points in the first half.

                “So what? I missed shots, my teammates were hitting them.” -Rose

In this series, the Chicago Bulls have taken a 3-0 lead with Thursday’s 88-84 win, but none of that has come easy. In these three games, Rose has taken hard hits driving the lane, some involving elbows and body slams, and some involving no fouls being called, but Rose has made the Pacers pay, going 44-49 from the free throw line alone.

This series has shown most intensity in the fourth quarter, because even though the Bulls have trailed or lost the lead at one point, they have managed to comeback to win it all. At the start of the fourth, the Bulls trailed 70-65 with 9:29 remaining, until Noah split a pair of free throws, and Korver sparking a 10-0 run, hitting a jumper to bring the Bulls back within two. Rose then hit four from the charity stripe. Boozer stole a bad pass from Darren Collison, which led Rose to find Korver for a three-pointer over Collison for the 75-70 lead with 7:04 remaining.

Korver contributed 12 points off the bench, 10 of them came in the fourth quarter. Noah went three-for-six on the floor with 11 points, 10 rebound and four blocks. Boozer grabbed 11 rebounds and Deng had six rebounds and six assists in 45 minutes with his 21. Keith Bogans went three-for-four from behind the arc for nine points.

Darren Collison returned to the Pacers lineup after leaving midway through Game 2 with a sprained left ankle and scored nine points in 34 minutes and turned the ball over four times. Danny Granger led the way for the Pacers with 21 points, but missed a potential game-winning three with 2.9 seconds. Tyler Hansbrough was held to 10 points and five rebounds. Dahntay Jones scored 11 points off the bench.

This is the first game that the Bulls managed a higher shooting percentage both on the floor and from downtown. The shot 38.9% to Indiana’s 37.9% on the floor and went an even 45% (9-20) from the three. Indiana only went one-for-ten behind the arc at 10%. The Bulls shared the ball and made the extra pass, dishing out 20 assists.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls captured their first ever playoffs win at Conseco Fieldhouse and will try to go for the sweep on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm…

Saturday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls hosted the Indiana Pacers for NBA Playoff action. In the words of late-Bull Norm “Stormin’ Norman” Van Lier, “It takes 48 minutes of intensity to win a game!” On this afternoon however, it took about 4:52, all the fourth quarter, to win 104-99 and lead the series 1-0.

With 4:52 remaining in regulation, Derrick Rose was fouled hard Tyler Hansbrough as he was driving the lane, by hard, I mean, forearm to the face, missing the ball almost completely. Teammate Luol Deng wouldn’t have any of it. He had some words for Hansbrough and got called for a technical foul. After Darren Collison missed the tech, Deng motioned to the 22,956 fans at the United Center to get louder. Deng played 41 minutes and chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds.

About 3:28 left, Bulls down by 10, Deng was fouled by Hansbrough driving in for the layup and two free throws, Bulls trailing 98-90. Joakim Noah then rebounded his own miss and tipped in the shot, he finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds (eight offensive) and three blocks. After a defensive stop by the Bulls, Rose found Noah wide open on the other end of the court for a dunk, bringing the Bulls withing four with 2:27 remaining.

Rose scored five straight points, including a jumper tying the game at 99 with 1:27 left. Kyle Korver then blocked Collison’s layup, Rose rebounded and as he drove in, forcing the defense to commit to him, he kicked it out to a wide open Korver for three, giving the Bulls their first lead of the game at 102-99 with 48.4 seconds left.

Rose led the way with 39 points, 10-23 on the floor, 0-9 behind the arc, and 19-21 at the free throw line, along with six, rebounds six assists and three blocks. Korver went four-for-four behind the arc with 13 points and three assists in 21 minutes.

Carlos Boozer suffered, as he couldn’t contain Hansbrough who finished with 22 points on a 10-for-19 shooting. Boozer had 12 points and six rebounds along with five fouls and four turnovers in 26 minutes.

The Pacers looked as if they were going to take this game, playing about 44 hard minutes. Danny Granger scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, 10-for-20 on the floor including four-for-eight from downtown, and 6 rebounds. Collison went two-for-two behind the three point line, tallied 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds. The Pacers shot 46.4% on the floor and 55.6% from downtown (10-18).

The Bulls out-rebounded the Pacers 49-34, shot 43.9% on the floor, and went 26-32 at the free throw line; however they were forced into 15 turnovers. It wasn’t a pretty win, but the Bulls will look to turn their four-to-five minutes of intensity to 48 on Monday night.

Bulls Extras: Luol Deng celebrated his 26th birthday today with a win…Bulls host the Pacers for Game 2 at the United Center Monday night at 8:30 pm…Bulls Bench Mob outscored the Pacers bench 25-23…Kurt Thomas clocked in 24 minutes and went three-for-four, for six points and four rebounds.

On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls won their 14^th straight at the United Center when they hosted and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 99-96. Bulls MVP candidate Derrick Rose showed why he was just that, even on a not-so-great shooting night.

In the final 15 seconds of the game, Rose was fouled as he drove past everyone down the left side for a layup with his left, giving the Bulls a 98-93 lead with 10.8 left. O.J. Mayo answered back with a trey on the left wing and 4.3 seconds left, but Memphis just couldn’t hold on.  Rose went 6-22; 0-5 behind the arc, for 24 points.

Six Memphis players were in double figures including Zach Randolph, who led the way with 16 points on 6-11 shooting. Former Boston Celtic Tony Allen (also a Chicagoan), who wore out his welcome in Chicago, managed a technical for getting chatty with the Bulls bench out of frustration, chipped in 13 points.

Luol Deng was consistent on the night as he went 8-14; 3-4 behind the arc for 23 points and 6 rebounds. After a Grizzlies 14-2 run, the Bulls responded with a 12-1 run including Deng’s 3 pointer from the top key putting the Bulls in front 47-46 with 50 seconds left in the half, but a play later on a Kyle Korver miss with 7 seconds remaining, Rose came up with an offensive board and nailed a fadaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 49-46 lead at halftime.

Rose found Korver on the left wing for a three with 3:47 remaining in the game for a 93-91 lead, Korver finished with 5 points on the night.

The Bulls Bench Mob (Ronnie Brewer, Taj Gibson, Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver) combined for 29 points (20 in the first half; Thomas went scoreless for the night). Those 20 first half points are what kept the Bulls in rotation.

Even though the Bulls outrebounded (45-32) and outscored the Grizzlies in the paint (46-44) the Bulls only shot 41.5% on the floor, while Memphis shot 49.3%

Bulls Extras: Bulls G-F Rasual Butler was active, but did not play (coach’s decision)… John Lucas III, Jannero Pargo and Brain Scalabrine were inactive…The Bulls will play in Milwaukee Saturday night…

The Chicago Bulls started the game in Atlanta as if continuing from the previous night against Sacramento: On fire and unstoppable. The last time the Bulls won in Atlanta was in December of 2009 (span of 6 games). The Bulls have won back-to-back games by 30 or more points, including tonight’s 114-81 contest.

If you haven’t taken the Bulls seriously yet, need you be reminded of what Michael Jordan said on March 12, 2011 during the halftime ceremony celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Bulls’ first championship (’91)?

“You guys are in store for a lot of other championships. You look at this team tonight; don’t be surprised if you don’t have six more coming.”

Well, while everyone’s busy paying all their attention to teams like Boston and Miami, Chicago will be climbing to the top playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played: With heart and intensity on both ends of the court. The Bulls play hard as a team and that is what will get them far.

In the first half alone even with Atlanta shooting 52%, the Bulls managed to score 72 points (41 in the 2^nd quarter) and have a comfortable 29 point lead.

Luol Deng shot 10-15 tallying 27 points and MVP candidate Derrick Rose went 11-20 (6-8 behind the arc) for 30 points and 10 assists. The Bulls aren’t relying on their starters; their roster goes deep, with their bench chipping in 37 points.

The Bulls out-rebounded the Hawks 40-26, while out-scoring them 48-18 in the paint.

Hawks C-F Al Horford chipped in 14 points but left the game in the 3^rd with a strained hamstring. Jeff Teague score 20 points on 6-9 shooting.

The Bulls are now 10-1 since losing in Atlanta on March 2, 2011.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls shot 54.4% on the floor, and went 10-18 behind the arc (55.6%)…Bulls forced the Hawks to 13 turnovers… Bulls scored a season high 41 points in the 2^nd quarter and season high 71 in the first half…Now have a record of 51-19…Bulls will host the Memphis Grizzlies at the United Center Friday, March 25^th

According to ESPN, Bulls small forward Luol Deng is likely to be out until the playoffs.

He may also sit some time in the playoffs, and he hasn’t played since Febuary 28th. 

Deng has been continuing his strong play throughout the season, averaging just under 15 points along with six rebounds.

“I increased the workout a little bit and had a great deal of pain,” Deng said Tuesday. “I’m just going to try to be off everything for a little bit and try it again.”

If he is out any time in the playoffs, the Bulls will likely be unable to do much against the defending champion Celtics, who will likely finish second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavs, who are also in the Bulls division.

The Bulls recently overtook the Detroit Pistons for the seventh spot, avoiding the inevitable sweep that would have occured if we had played the Cavs.

However, if Deng is unable to play, the same fate against the Celtics.

-Joe Willett

Last night Derrick Rose took a shot win time was running out he missed, and Larry Hughes got the rebound and the bucket to win the game.  Derrick Rose had a great game with 25 pts, and 9 ast. The other starts did pretty will also Gordon had 15 pts, Hughes had 16 pts, 18 pts 6 rebs, and Noah had 6 pts, and 7 rebs. Deng had a bad game with only 2 pts. The Bulls strongest bench players were Gray with 8 pts 4 rebs, and Thomas with 2 pts 8 rebs. The Bulls improved to 7-8, and there next game is at San Antonio tommorrow